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Transcript of Russell Indexes Construction
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MARCH 2014
Russell U.S. Equity Indexes Construction and Methodology
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Russell U.S. Equity Indexes Construction and Methodology
Russell Indexes benefits:
Transparent. Russell Indexes are constructed using an open, published, rules-based, methodology thats
designed to be easy to understand for any financial professional. And Russell sticks to those rules, making our
indexes transparent and predictable.
Representative of the market. Russell Indexes are modular in design and constructed to be objective and
comprehensive with full coverage of the underlying market segment without gaps or overlaps. There is no
sampling. So our indexes are a complete picture of the whole market and the opportunity set available to
investors.
Leading methodology. Russell Indexes have a consistent history of being one of the first to adapt as the
market evolves. Our indexes have been fully float-adjusted since their inception. Russell Indexes launched the
first style indexes in 1987 and incorporated smart, small scale adjustments including the multi-factor style
methodology in 1994 allowing for over fifteen years of comprehensive style and factor history. And these
adjustments pioneered by Russell are now considered industry-standard. Recently weve designed indexes to
accurately capture new alternative weighting methods including GDP weighting, equal weighting and
fundamental weighting.
Accurate and practical. To ensure that market segments are accurately represented, Russell Indexes are
rigorously maintained. Daily corporate actions, monthly share adjustments, quarterly IPO inclusions and
annual total reconstitution ensure that the indexes accurately represent the true global opportunity set.
Russell Index Methodologies are continually reviewed by product managers. Topics under consideration may
result from direct inquiry, request for clarification, market observation or research; considerations are analyzed
against 4 guiding principles of index methodology (Objective representation, replicable, transparent, passively
manageable at a reasonable cost). Evaluation procedures include historical analysis of potential impacts of
methodology changes and how turnover, fundamental characteristics and measurement of segment, factor,
style or asset class is affected.
Contact us
Email: [email protected]
Americas: +1-877-503-6437
APAC: +65-6880-5003
EMEA: +44-0-20-7024-6600
Web: www.russell.com/indexes
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Updated sections This document has been updated since the previous published version:
Russell Index Benefits updated to include description of index governance process.
Quarterly Initial Public Offerings section updated to provide clarification around defining eligible IPOs and
treatment for IPOs also involving corporate action.
Clarification provided for minimum available shares rounded to whole percent.
Removed BDCs from eligibility based on SEC reporting requirements of acquired fund fees, effective
June 2014 rebalance.
Clarification regarding use of exchange provided estimate.
Corporate action treatment updated to allow confirmed actions to be implemented in conjunction with a
rebalance to minimize turnover, provided appropriate notice can be provided.
Confirmed delisting due to cash acquisition will be processed provided all regulatory and shareholder
approvals have been achieved (final exchange confirmation not required)
Clarification for delayed actions involving mandatory share increase: synthetic price will be applied to
allow for cash reinvestment with delay. However, mandatory share increase will not be delayed.
Clarification for Reverse Merger: Require regular way trade price.
Update for Stability spin-off treatment during recon: Spin-off probability to be based on parent
probabilities.
Clarification provided for spin-off valuation and criteria for potential delay.
Clarification for partial tender treatment as part of month end share rebalance.
Clarification provided for bankruptcy treatment.
Provided description of file revision guidelines.
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Russell U.S. Equity Indexes Construction and Methodology TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction .............................................................................................. 1
Available indexes ....................................................................... 2
Basic methodology .................................................................................. 4
Annual reconstitution ................................................................. 4
Defining eligible securities ....................................................................... 5
Determining U.S. Companies .................................................... 5
Home-country indicators (HCIs) ................................................. 5
Trading requirements ................................................................. 7
Minimum closing price ............................................................... 7
Primary exchange pricing .......................................................... 7
Minimum total market capitalization ........................................... 7
Minimum available shares / float requirement ........................... 7
Company structure ..................................................................... 7
UBTI screening .......................................................................... 8
Shares excluded ........................................................................ 8
Deadline for inclusion ................................................................. 8
Defining membership by size (market capitalization) ............................. 9
Determining total shares outstanding ........................................ 9
Determining price ....................................................................... 9
Primary trading vehicle .............................................................. 9
Initial public offerings (IPOs) .................................................... 10
Determining index membership ............................................... 10
Adjustments to members shares outstanding (float) ............................ 13
Determining style ................................................................................... 14
Russell Growth and Value Indexes .......................................... 14
Russell Defensive and Dynamic Indexes ................................. 14
Quality Score (comprises 50% of the overall stability
probability) ............................................................................... 16
Volatility Score (comprises 50% of the overall stability
probability) ............................................................................... 16
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Description of non-linear probability algorithm ......................... 16
5% rule ..................................................................................... 17
Banding rule ............................................................................. 17
Market capitalization of growth/value and
defensive/dynamic indexes ...................................................... 17
Missing values, negative values, or low coverage ................... 17
Book value adjustments ........................................................... 18
Russell non-linear probability algorithm ................................... 18
Corporate actiondriven changes .......................................................... 19
Timing and treatment of corporate actions .............................. 19
No replacement rule .............................................................. 19
Mergers and acquisitions ......................................................... 19
Reincorporations ...................................................................... 21
Reclassifications of shares (primary vehicles) ......................... 21
Rights offerings ........................................................................ 21
Changes to shares outstanding ............................................... 22
Spin-offs ................................................................................... 22
Tender offers ............................................................................ 23
Delisting ................................................................................... 24
Bankruptcy and voluntary liquidations ..................................... 24
Stock distributions .................................................................... 24
Dividends ................................................................................. 24
Halted securities ...................................................................... 25
Russell Equal Weight Indexes ............................................................... 26
Quarterly index re-weighting and annual reconstitution ........... 26
Corporate actiondriven changes ............................................ 27
How the capacity screen is applied .......................................... 27
Index tickers and base values ............................................................... 29
Country assignment methodology details .............................................. 32
Home Country Indicators (HCIs) .............................................. 32
Benefit Driven Incorporation countries (BDIs), No
Domestic Exchange countries (NDEs), and U.S.
Territories ................................................................................. 33
Sample client notification ....................................................................... 36
Schedule of notifications* ......................................................... 36
Sample notification ................................................................... 36
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Predictive Index Data ............................................................................ 38
File Revisions ........................................................................................ 39
Performance algorithms and examples ................................................. 40
Calculation of a synthetic position ............................................ 40
Rights offering .......................................................................... 41
Market-adjusted breakpoints .................................................... 41
Spin-off / stock distribution price adjustments .......................... 41
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PAGE 1
SECTION 1
Introduction Russell Investments provides float-adjusted, market capitalizationweighted indexes for a precise picture of
the overall market. Today, $4.1 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russell Indexes and more
institutional funds track them than all other U.S. equity indexes combined.1 In 2007, Russell applied its
practical, industry-leading U.S. Index methodology to the worlds equity markets and launched its family of
global indexes. Covering 83 markets worldwide, we provide comprehensive benchmarks covering 98% of
investable global equity, making them more representative of the market.
1U.S. Equity Indexes: Institutional Benchmark Survey, December 2012.
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PAGE 2
Available indexes
All Russell U.S. equity indexes are subsets of the Russell 3000E Index. A list of available tickers and index
values can be found in Appendix A.
Price, total, net, and hedged data for the Russell U.S. Indexes is available in the following currencies.
Currency conversions are applied using WM Reuters London Stock Exchange 4 p.m. close.
AUD
CAD
CHF
EUR
GBP
JPY
USD
SGD
ZAR
Broad Market U.S. Indexes Large Cap U.S. Indexes Midcap U.S. Indexes
Russell 3000E Index Russell 1000 Index Russell Midcap
Index
Russell 3000E Value Index Russell 1000 Value Index Russell Midcap
Value Index
Russell 3000E Growth Index Russell 1000 Growth Index Russell Midcap
Growth Index
Russell 3000 Index Russell 1000
Defensive Index Russell Midcap
Defensive Index
Russell 3000 Value Index Russell 1000
Dynamic Index Russell Midcap
Dynamic Index
Russell 3000 Growth Index Russell 1000
Growth-Defensive Index Russell Midcap
Growth-Defensive
Index Russell 3000
Defensive Index Russell 1000
Growth-Dynamic Index Russell Midcap
Growth-Dynamic
Index Russell 3000
Dynamic Index Russell 1000
Value-Defensive Index Russell Midcap
Value-Defensive
Index Russell 3000
Growth-Defensive Index Russell 1000
Value-Dynamic Index Russell Midcap
Value-Dynamic
Index Russell 3000
Growth-Dynamic Index
Russell 3000 Value-Defensive Index Russell Top 200
Index
Russell 3000
Value-Dynamic Index Russell Top 200 Value Index
Russell Top 200 Growth Index
Russell Top 200 Defensive Index
Russell Top 200 Dynamic Index
Russell Top 200 Growth-Defensive Index
Russell Top 200 Growth-Dynamic Index
Russell Top 200 Value-Defensive Index
Russell Top 200 Value-Dynamic Index
Russell Top 50 Mega Cap Index
Small-Mid U.S. Indexes Small Cap U.S. Indexes Microcap U.S. Indexes
Russell 2500 Index Russell 2000 Index Russell Microcap
Index
Russell 2500 Value Index Russell 2000 Value Index Russell Microcap
Value Index
Russell 2500 Growth Index Russell 2000 Growth Index Russell Microcap
Growth Index
Russell 2500 Defensive Index Russell 2000 Defensive Index
Russell 2500 Dynamic Index Russell 2000 Dynamic Index
Russell 2500 Growth-Defensive Index Russell 2000
Growth-Dynamic Index Russell 2500 Growth-Dynamic Index Russell 2000
Value-Defensive Index
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PAGE 3
Russell 2500 Value-Defensive Index Russell 2000
Value-Dynamic Index Russell 2500 Value-Dynamic Index Russell 2000
Growth-Defensive Index
Russell Small Cap Completeness
Index
Russell Small Cap Completeness
Value Index
Russell Small Cap Completeness
Growth Index
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PAGE 4
SECTION 2
Basic methodology Russell Indexes are objectively constructed and based on transparent rules. The broadest U.S. index is the
Russell 3000E Index, which contains the largest 4,000 U.S. companies. Sub-indexes in the Russell 3000E
Index are broken out by market capitalization and style.
The members of the Russell 3000E Index and its subsets are determined each year during annual
reconstitution and enhanced quarterly with the addition of initial public offerings (IPOs).
Annual reconstitution
Annual reconstitution is the process by which all Russell Indexes are completely rebuilt. Reconstitution is a
vital part of the creation of a benchmark that accurately represents a particular market segment. Companies
may get bigger or smaller over time, or periodically undergo changes in their style characteristics.
Reconstitution ensures that companies continue to be correctly represented in the appropriate Russell
Indexes.
On the last trading day in May each year, all eligible securities are ranked by their total market capitalization.
The largest 4,000 become the Russell 3000E Index, and the other Russell U.S. Indexes are determined from
that set of securities. If there are not 4,000 eligible securities in the U.S. market, the entire eligible set is
included.
Reconstitution occurs on the last Friday in June. However, at times this date is too proximal to exchange
closures and abbreviated exchange trading schedules when market liquidity is exceptionally low. In order to
ensure proper liquidity in the markets, when the last Friday in June falls on the 29th or 30th, reconstitution will
occur on the preceding Friday. A full calendar for reconstitution is made available each spring.
Quarterly initial public offerings
Eligible initial public offerings (IPOs) are added to Russell Indexes at the end of each calendar quarter in
accordance with the schedule in Section 4. Russell adds IPOs each quarter to ensure that new additions to
the institutional investing opportunity set are reflected in representative indexes. Russell focuses on IPOs
each quarter because it is important to reflect market additions between reconstitution periods. Companies
filing an initial public offering registration statement (or the local equivalent when outside the U.S.) and listing
within the same quarter* on an eligible US exchange are reviewed for eligibility regardless of previous trading
activity (exceptional or unique events may induce extraordinary treatment which will be communicated
appropriately). Companies currently trading on foreign exchanges or OTC markets will be reviewed for
eligibility if:
1. The company files an Initial Public Offering statement for an eligible US exchange
2. The offering is announced to the market and confirmed by our vendors as an IPO
3. The security is not currently a member of the Russell Global Index (eligibility and country assignment will be
reviewed at reconstitution).
* a one month window will be used to ensure that companies submitting the requisite filings just outside of the
quarter are not excluded from eligibility.
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PAGE 5
SECTION 3
Defining eligible securities Russell U.S. Indexes capture approximately 99% of the U.S. equity market and 100% of the investable U.S.
market. The full investment opportunity set of managers in each U.S. market segment. Below are the
requirements for securities inclusion in the Russell U.S. Indexes.
Determining U.S. Companies
Historically, asset owners have diversified their risk by assigning assets to specific countries. Some
companies incorporate in a specific country for tax reasons, while some companies choose better access to
capital. Therefore, to most closely track country risk, Russell uses objective criteria to assign companies to the
U.S. equity market. All companies that are determined to be part of the U.S. equity market are included in the
Russell U.S. Indexes, and those determined to be non-U.S. become members of the Russell Global ex-U.S.
Index.
Home-country indicators (HCIs)
If a company incorporates in, has a stated headquarters location in, and also trades in the same country,
(ADRs and ADSs are not eligible), the company is assigned to its country of incorporation. If any of the three
criteria do not match, Russell then defines three home country indicators (HCIs). The HCIs are as follows:
1. Country of incorporation
2. Country of headquarters
3. Country of the most liquid exchange as defined by two-year average daily dollar trading volume (ADDTV)
from all exchanges within a country
After the HCIs are defined, the next step in the country assignment involves an analysis of assets by location.
Russell cross-compares the primary location of the companys assets with the three HCIs. If the primary
location of assets matches ANY of the HCIs, then the company is assigned to its primary asset location (see
Appendix B for specifics on the definition of primary asset/revenue location).
If there is not enough information to determine a companys primary location of assets, Russell uses the
primary location of the companys revenue for the same cross-comparison and assigns the company to the
appropriate country in a similar fashion. Russell uses an average of two years of assets or revenue data for
analysis to reduce potential turnover.
If conclusive country details cannot be derived from assets or revenue, Russell assigns the company to the
country in which its headquarters are located unless the country is a Benefit Driven Incorporation (BDI)
country (see Appendix B for a list of BDI countries). If the country in which its headquarters are located is a
BDI, the company is assigned to the country of its most liquid stock exchange.
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PAGE 6
Steps to determining U.S. country assignment:
Step 1 Is the company incorporated in, traded in,
and headquartered in one unique country?
YES
Classified in the unique country
NO
Move to Step 2
Step 2 Are the companys reported assets
primarily located in one of the HCIs?
YES
Classified in the country of
primary assets
NO
Move to Step 3
Step 3 Are the companys reported revenues
primarily derived from one of the HCIs?
YES
Classified in the country of
primary revenue
NO
Move to Step 4
Step 4 Is the company headquartered in a non-BDI
country?
YES
Classified in the country of
headquarters
NO
Assigned to primary
exchange country
Note: If the company does not trade on a major U.S. exchange it is not eligible.
Example 1:
XYZ Company
HCIs: Incorporation: U.S.
Headquarters: China
Trading locations: U.S., U.K., Hong Kong (most liquid exchange: U.S.)
Asset location: 100% in Canada
Step 1 Is the company incorporated in, traded in,
and headquartered in one unique country?
NO
Move to Step 2
Step 2 Are the companys reported assets
primarily located in the one of the HCIs?
NO Canada
Move to Step 3
Step 3 Are the companys reported revenues
primarily located in one of the HCIs?
NO No Data
Move to Step 4
Step 4 Is the company headquartered in a non-BDI
country?
YES China
CLASSIFICATION:
China
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PAGE 7
Example 2:
ABC Company:
HCIs Incorporation: Ireland
Headquarters: Ireland
Trading locations: U.S., Ireland, Germany (most liquid exchange: U.S.)
Asset location: 85% in U.S.
Step 1 Is the company incorporated in, traded in,
and headquartered in one unique country?
YES Ireland
Assigned to Ireland
Trading requirements
All securities eligible for inclusion in Russell U.S. Indexes must trade on a major U.S. exchange. Bulletin
board, pink sheet or over-the-counter (OTC) traded securities are not eligible for inclusion.
Minimum closing price
A stock must have a close price at or above $1.00 (on its primary exchange) on the last trading day in May to
be considered eligible for inclusion. In order to reduce unnecessary turnover, if an existing members closing
price is less than $1.00 on the last trading day in May, it will be considered eligible if the average of the daily
closing prices (from its primary exchange) during the month of May is equal to or greater than $1.00. Quarterly
IPO additions must have a close price at or above $1.00 on the last day of their eligibility period in order to
qualify for index inclusion.
Primary exchange pricing
If a stock, new or existing, does not have a close price at or above $1.00 (on its primary exchange) on the last
trading day in May, but does have a close price at or above $1.00 on another major U.S. exchange, the stock
will be eligible for index inclusion.
Minimum total market capitalization
Companies with a total market capitalization less than $30 million are not eligible for inclusion in Russell U.S.
indexes.
Minimum available shares / float requirement
Companies with only a small portion of their shares available in the marketplace are not eligible for the Russell
Indexes. Companies with 5% or less will be removed from eligibility. When unavailable shares are determined
to be 94.5% or greater, this will be rounded to 95%. See Section 5: Adjustments to Members Shares
Outstanding (Float), for details on calculations of available shares.
Company structure
Companies structured in the following ways are excluded from inclusion in Russell Indexes: royalty trusts, U.S.
limited liability companies, closed-end investment companies (As a point of clarification: Due to SEC treatment
of AFFE reporting, Business Development Companies [BDCs] are no longer eligible, effective June 2014
annual rebalance), blank-check companies, special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), and limited
partnerships.
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PAGE 8
UBTI screening
Companies that produce unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) are restricted from ownership for tax-
exempt investors. In recognition of this, Russell screens all REIT's and PTP's, removing any security from
eligibility that generates or has historically generated UBTI and has not taken steps to block UBTI to equity
holders. The research process is conducted as part of Russell's annual rebalance effort. Additional screening
will not be assessed or changed outside of the reconstitution period. Information used to confirm UBTI impact
includes the following publicly available sources: 10-K, SEC Form S-3, K-1, company annual report, dividend
notices or company website.
For UBTI to be passed to a security holder, the UBTI must be produced by the company directly. UBTI
incurred by a subsidiary will not be realized by the holder of the parent entity and would not require removal of
the parent company from eligibility.
If a company restructures to block UBTI, they will remain eligible for index inclusion. Acceptable forms of
restructure are as follows:
1) Formal creation of a shell entity or offshore vehicle ensuring that any dividend payment is void of
UBTI.
2) If within a public filing (SEC filing, dividend disclosure, press release) the company declares that any
UBTI producing assets have been sold AND no future intent to purchase UBTI producing assets
exists. This declaration of intent must clearly state that the companys past investment strategy has
changed and the intent is to remove the exposure of UBTI to the end holder.
Shares excluded
Because Russell Indexes are built to capture performance of each companys primary equity vehicle, the
following share types are not eligible for inclusion: preferred and convertible preferred stock, redeemable
shares, participating preferred stock, warrants, rights, and trust receipts.
Deadline for inclusion
Stocks must be listed on the last trading day in May and Russell must have access to documentation on that
date supporting the companys eligibility for index inclusion. This includes corporate description, verification of
incorporation, number of shares outstanding and other information needed to determine eligibility. IPOs will be
considered for index inclusion on a quarterly basis.
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PAGE 9
SECTION 4
Defining membership by size
(market capitalization) Russell calculates the total market capitalization of each security to determine whether it is large enough for
inclusion in one or more of the Russell Indexes. Total market capitalization is determined by multiplying total
outstanding shares by the market price as of the last trading day in May for those securities being considered
at annual reconstitution. IPO eligibility is determined each quarter.
Determining total shares outstanding
Common stock, non-restricted exchangeable shares and partnership units/membership interests (in certain
cases- see below) are used to calculate a companys total market capitalization. Exchangeable Shares are
shares which may be exchanged at any time, at the holders option, on a one-for-one basis for common stock.
Membership or partnership units/interests represent an economic interest in a limited liability company or
limited partnership. Russell includes membership or partnership units/interests as part of total market
capitalization when the company in question is merely a holding company of an underlying entity that issues
membership or partnership units/interests and when these membership units are the company's sole asset.
This is not to be confused with operating partnership units that are issued in conjunction with UPREITs. In
these cases, total market capitalization will be calculated based on 100% of the value of all membership
interests.
Any other form of shares such as preferred or convertible preferred stock, redeemable shares, participating
preferred stock, warrants and rights or trust receipts are excluded from the calculation. If multiple share
classes of common stock exist, they are combined. In cases where the common stock share classes act
independently of each other (e.g., tracking stocks), each class is considered for inclusion separately.
Determining price
During annual reconstitution, the last price traded on the last trading day in May on the primary exchange is
used to determine market capitalization. If a security does not trade on its primary exchange, the lowest price
from another major U.S. exchange is used. In the case where multiple share classes exist, a primary trading
vehicle is determined, and the price of that primary trading vehicle (usually the most liquid) is used in our
calculations.
Primary trading vehicle
Primary trading vehicles are determined by the last two years average trading volume, as of the last trading
day in May. For new members, the common share class with the highest trading volume will be considered the
primary trading vehicle, and its associated price and trading symbol will be included in the Russell U.S.
Indexes. If the volume of each share class is close, within 20%, the one with the largest available shares is
used. For share classes without two years of history, all available volume data is used. At least 100 day
trading volume is necessary to consider the class as a primary vehicle for existing members. New members
will be analyzed on all available data, even if that data is for less than 100 days. If applicable, shares held
across different share classes will be represented on a mathematically equivalent basis.
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PAGE 10
Initial public offerings (IPOs)
IPOs are added to Russell indexes on the basis of total market capitalization ranking within the market-
adjusted capitalization breaks established during the most recent reconstitution. Country assignment
determination is made using data provided in prospectuses or other filings. Market adjustments to the
capitalization breaks are made using the returns of the broad market Russell 3000E Index Eligible IPOs will be
added to Russells growth/value indexes using their industrys average style probability established at the
latest reconstitution. All IPOs are assigned as 100% dynamic for the Russell Stability Indexes.
Russells U.S. Indexes IPO calendar:
QUARTERLY ADDITIONS
THIRD-QUARTER ADDITIONS
FOURTH-QUARTER ADDITIONS
FIRST-QUARTER ADDITIONS
Initial offering period IPOs which initially price/trade between June 1 and August 31
IPOs which initially price/trade between September 1 and November 30
IPOs which initially price/trade between December 1 and February 28/29
Rank date 31-Aug 30-Nov February 28/29
Announce date 15-Sep Monday prior to add date 15-Mar
Effective date* 30-Sep Third Friday in December 31-Mar
*After the close on the last business day. If a date falls on a weekend the previous business day is used.
**Once IPO additions have been announced, an IPO may be added to the index prior to the previously announced schedule, if a corporate
action has deemed this to be appropriate and notice can be provided (e.g. an index member automatically receives shares via a stock
distribution into a projected IPO add).In order to be added during a quarter outside of reconstitution, an IPO must meet all Russell U.S.
Index eligibility requirements. Additionally, the IPO must meet the following criteria on the final trading day of the month prior to quarter-end:
(1) it is priced and traded; and (2) it ranks larger in total market capitalization than the market-adjusted smallest company in the Russell
3000E Index as of the latest June reconstitution. See Appendix E for calculations.
Determining index membership
Once the market capitalization for each security is determined by use of total shares and price (as described
above), each security is placed in the appropriate Russell market capitalizationbased index. The largest
4,000 securities become members of the Russell 3000E Index. If eligible securities total less than 4,000, the
Russell 3000E and Russell Microcap Index will include all eligible securities. The other index capitalization
breaks remain unchanged. All remaining indexes are a subset of this index. A market capitalization breakpoint
is determined by the break between the companies below.
Index
Companies Included
(based on descending total market capitalization)
Russell 3000E Index Companies #14,000 or 100% of the eligible securities
Russell 3000 Index Companies #13,000
Russell Top 200 Index Companies #1200
Russell 1000 Index Companies #11,000
Russell Midcap Index Companies #2011,000
Russell 2000 Index Companies #1,0013,000
Russell 2500 Index Companies #5013,000
Russell Microcap Index Companies #2,0014,000 or 100% of the eligible securities
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PAGE 11
After the initial market capitalization breakpoints are determined by the ranges listed above, new members are
assigned on the basis of the breakpoints, and existing members are reviewed to determine if they fall within a
cumulative 5% market cap range around these new market capitalization breakpoints. If an existing members
market cap falls within this cumulative 5% of the market capitalization breakpoint, it will remain in its current
index rather than be moved to a different market capitalizationbased Russell index. Companies that fall on
the edge of market capitalization breakpoints are often still within a managers opportunity set, since they have
not significantly grown or declined in market capitalization.
Exceptions: There will be no percentile banding at the bottom of the Russell 3000 Index (stock 3,000) or the
Russell 3000E Index (stock 4,000). In addition, due to the small market cap percentage, the Russell Microcap
Index will be banded at 1% around stock 2,000.
Steps in calculating percentile ranges of the new index:
1. Sort the Russell 3000E Index members in descending order by total market capitalization.
2. Calculate the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000E Index by summing all members total market
capitalizations.
3. Calculate percentiles for each company in the Russell 3000E Index by dividing the cumulative market cap
associated with each member by the total market cap of the Russell 3000E.
4. Calculate a range of five percentiles around the newly determined market cap breakpoints, by subtracting,
and then adding, 2.5% from/to the calculated percentile of the market cap breakpoint.
Example:
Assume the market capitalization of security 1,000 is $2 billion (i.e., the breakpoint between the Russell 1000
and the Russell 2000). Current members of the Russell 1000 Index that are smaller than $2B are slated to be
moved to the Russell 2000, while current members of the Russell 2000 that are larger than $2B are slated to
be moved to the Russell 1000. However, since they are current members, they are further assessed for the
magnitude of their differences from the market capitalization breakpoint.
Illustration:
1. Sort the new Russell 3000E Index members by descending market capitalization (see below).
2. Calculate the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000E Index. Assume for illustration purposes that the
index = $182,500 ($M). (Note: Total market cap has been dramatically reduced for simpler illustration.)
3. Calculate percentiles for each company (see below).
4. Calculate a 5 percentile range around the $2 billion market cap percentile (89.99 for this illustration):
1. 89.99 2.5 = 87.49
2. 89.99 + 2.5 = 92.49
Range = 87.49% 92.49%
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PAGE 12
Rank Company Current R1
member Current R2
member Company
market cap ($M) Cumulative market cap
Cumulative percentile
New index membership
995 XYZ Company Y N $2,115 $154,000 84.38% R1
996 ABC Company N Y $2,105 $156,105 85.54% R1
997 Drugstore Inc. Y N $2,100 $158,205 86.69% R1
998 PYK Shipping N Y $2,011 $160,216 87.79% R2
999 Z Technology N Y $2,010 $162,226 88.89% R2
1,000 RE Trust N Y $2,000 $164,226 89.99% R2
1,001 Foods Inc. Y N $1,995 $166,221 91.08% R1
1,002 PETs & More N Y $1,950 $168,171 92.15% R2
1,003 RYT Inc. Y N $1,923 $170,094 93.20% R2
Therefore, the market capitalization of current Russell 2000 Index members PYK Shipping, Z Technology and
RE Trust have not changed significantly enough to require a membership move into the Russell 1000, and
current Russell 1000 Index member Foods Inc.s market capitalization has not changed significantly enough to
require a membership move out of the Russell 1000 (although it is smaller than $2B). These companies
remain in their current indexes.
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PAGE 13
SECTION 5
Adjustments to members shares
outstanding (float) After membership is determined, a securitys shares are adjusted to include only those shares available to the
public. This is often referred to as free float. The purpose of this adjustment is to exclude from market
calculations the capitalization that is not available for purchase and is not part of the investable opportunity
set. Stocks in the Russell U.S. Indexes are weighted by their available (also called float-adjusted) market
capitalization, which is calculated by multiplying the primary closing price by the available shares. Adjustments
to shares are reviewed at reconstitution and for major corporate actions such as mergers.
Capitalization adjustments
The following types of shares are removed from total market capitalization to arrive at free float or available
market capitalization. Adjustments are based on information recorded in SEC corporate filings, including DEF
14, 424B, and 10K filings, or other reliable sources in the event of missing or questionable data. Please note
that 13F filings are not reviewed.
Cross-ownership by another Russell 3000E Index or Russell Global Index member: Shares held by
another member of a Russell index (including Russell global indexes) is considered cross-ownership, and
all shares will be adjusted regardless of percentage held.
Large corporate and private holdings: Shares held by another listed company (non-member) or by
private individuals will be adjusted if they exceed 10% of shares outstanding. Share percentage is
determined by those shares held either by an individual or by a group of individuals acting together. For
example, officers and directors holdings would be summed together to determine whether they exceed
10%. Not included in this class, however, are institutional holdings, including investment companies,
partnerships, insurance companies, mutual funds, banks or venture capital firms unless these firms have
a direct relationship to the company, such as board representation. In such cases, they are considered
strategic holdings and are included with the officers/directors group.
ESOP or LESOP shares that comprise 10% or more of the shares outstanding are adjusted.
Unlisted share classes: Classes of common stock that are not traded on a U.S. exchange are adjusted.
IPO lock-ups: Shares locked up during an initial public offering are not available to the public and will be
excluded from the market value at the time the IPO enters the index.
Government holdings:
Direct government holders: Those holdings listed as government of are considered unavailable
and will be removed entirely from available shares.
Indirect government holders: Shares held by government investment boards and/or investment
arms will be treated similar to large private holdings and removed if the holding is greater than 10%.
Government pensions: Any holding by a government pension plan is considered an institutional
holding and will not be removed from available shares.
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SECTION 6
Determining style Russell Investments uses a non-linear probability method to assign stocks to the growth and value style
valuation indexes and to assign stocks to the defensive and dynamic Russell Stability Indexes.
Russell Growth and Value Indexes
Russell uses three variables in the determination of growth and value. On the value side, book-to-price is
used, while on the growth side, the I/B/E/S long-term growth variable was replaced by two variables- I/B/E/S
forecast medium-term growth (2 yr) and sales per share historical growth (5 yr).
The term probability is used to indicate the degree of certainty that a stock is value or growth, based on its
relative book-to-price (B/P) ratio, I/B/E/S forecast medium-term growth (2 yr), and sales per share historical
growth (5 yr). This method allows stocks to be represented as having both growth and value characteristics,
while preserving the additive nature of the indexes. The process for assigning growth and value weights is
applied separately to the stocks in the Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 and to the smallest 1,000 stocks in the
Russell Microcap Indexes. Research indicates that on average, valuations of small stocks differ from those of
large stocks. Treating the Russell 1000, Russell 2000 and smallest Russell Microcap stocks separately
prevents the possible distortion to relative valuations that may occur if the Russell 3000E is used as the base
index.
For each base index (the Russell 1000 and Russell 2000, and the smallest 1,000 in Russell Microcap), stocks
are ranked by their adjusted book-to-price ratio (B/P), their I/B/E/S forecast medium-term growth (2 yr) and
sales per share historical growth (5 yr). These rankings are converted to standardized units, where the value
variable represents 50% of the score and the two growth variables represent the remaining 50%. They are
then combined to produce a composite value score (CVS). Stocks are then ranked by their CVS, and a
probability algorithm is applied to the CVS distribution to assign growth and value weights to each stock. In
general, a stock with a lower CVS is considered growth, a stock with a higher CVS is considered value and a
stock with a CVS in the middle range is considered to have both growth and value characteristics, and is
weighted proportionately in the growth and value index. Stocks are always fully represented by the
combination of their growth and value weights; e.g., a stock that is given a 20% weight in a Russell value
index will have an 80% weight in the corresponding Russell growth index.
Russell Defensive and Dynamic Indexes
The Russell Stability Indexes add a Third Dimension of Style to the Russell Style Indexes. Stability is
measured in terms of volatility (price and earnings), leverage and return on assets. Stability Indexes are
created in a similar fashion as the growth and value indexes in that they involve splitting an existing applicable
Russell Index in half based on the combination of the stability indicators. The more stable half of the split is
called Defensive, and the less stable half is called Dynamic.
The Russell Defensive Indexes measure the performance of companies that have relatively stable business
conditions which are less sensitive to economic cycles, credit cycles and market volatility based on their
stability indicators. The Russell Dynamic Indexes measure the performance of companies that have
relatively less stable business conditions and are more sensitive to those market cycles.
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For each base index (Russell 1000 and Russell 2000), there are five specific fundamentals used to determine
the probability of being defensive or dynamic: Debt/Equity, Return on Assets (ROA), Earnings Variability, and
Total Return Volatility (52 week & 60 month). Among other things, a company has risks related to balance
sheet leverage, economic cycles and industry/product cycles, and weaknesses in its business model. Russell
uses debt/equity ratios as a proxy for risks related to balance sheet leverage. Earnings variability is used as a
proxy for risks related to economic cycles and industry/product cycles. Return on assets (ROA) is used as a
proxy for risks related to the strength of a companys business model. The final component used as an
indicator of a companys risk is the volatility of its stocks returns. Total return volatility reflects aspects of a
companys stability or risk not captured by the other three inputs to a companys stability probability.
Using the Russell non-linear style algorithm, companies with high stability probabilities are included in the
Russell Defensive Indexes. Companies with low stability probabilities are included in the Russell Dynamic
Indexes.
Russell has assigned the label Quality to the score, resulting from an equal weight of the three accounting-
based indicators (earnings variability, debt/equity ratios, and ROA). Together, these three indicators comprise
50% of the stability probability. The Volatility score makes up the other half of the stability probability, and is
based on an equal weight of the past 52 weeks of the stock prices weekly volatility and the past 60 months of
the stock prices monthly volatility.
A company may be included in both the defensive and dynamic indexes based on its stability probability.
However, the number of shares for each index will be divided based on its stability probability. The total
shares will be the same as the parent index.
Earnings Variability
Weight: 33%
Leverage
Weight: 33%
Return on Assets
Weight: 33%
52 Week Total Return
Volatility
Weight: 50%
60 Month Total Return
Volatility
Weight: 50%
Scoring Scoring Scoring Scoring Scoring
Quality Score
Weight: 50%
Total Return Volatility Score
Weight: 50%
Stability Probability
(0-1)
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Quality Score (comprises 50% of the overall stability probability)
There are three stability indicators which comprise the Quality Score-- Debt/Equity, Pre-Tax ROA, and
Earnings Variability. Each indicator comprises one third of the Quality score.
Debt/Equity: The debt/equity ratio is based on the most recent quarterly SEC filing.
Pre-Tax ROA: The pre-tax ROA is based on the last years pre-tax income divided by the average of the
assets for the previous year ((current assets + same quarter one year prior)/2).
Earnings Variability: The earnings variability computation uses quarterly EPS for the previous 5 years. It is
based on the standard error of the linear earnings-per-share (EPS) trend regression. The rationale for using
the standard error is that if there is a trend in the EPS over time, then the trend itself should not contribute to
EPS variability. The standard error is then dividend by the median EPS (of the 20 observations).This scaling
normalizes the information to make each company directly comparable to other companies regardless of the
relative level of EPS.
Negative (or zero) EPS numbers are included in the standard error calculation, however, a negative or zero
median EPS value will not be used to calculate EPS variability. Rather, EPS variability is excluded in the
analysis and set to zero/dynamic. Assigning this value is equivalent to characterizing the company has having
very high earnings variability.
If there are less than 20 observations for EPS (or standard error is equal to zero), it is considered NULL and
standard error will not be calculated (see missing variables below);
Volatility Score (comprises 50% of the overall stability probability)
Total return volatility (standard deviation) is measured over two horizons, over the previous year and over the
previous five years. Each indicator represents one half of the volatility score.
52 week price volatility (1 year): The one year-volatility is the standard deviation based on the 52 weekly
returns that end on the last Friday on or before May 31.
60 month price volatility (5 year): Trailing five-year volatility is the standard deviation based on monthly
returns. Thus, for a score based on May 31, 2010 data, the five-year volatility is based on the 60 monthly
returns for the period that starts on May 31, 2005 and ends on May 31, 2010.
Description of non-linear probability algorithm
Stock A, in Figure 1, is a security with 20% of its available shares assigned to the value index and the remaining
80% assigned to the growth index. The growth and value (or defensive and dynamic) probabilities will always
sum to 100%. Hence, the sum of a stocks market capitalization in the growth and value index will always equal
its market capitalization in the Russell 1000 Index, Russell 2000 Index, or Russell Microcap Index.
Low CVS 1st Quartile Median 3rd Quartile High CVS Break Break
Weight in Value Index Weight in Growth Index
0.0%
0%
100% 100%
50% 50%
Figure 1: Non-Linear Probability Function for Index Position Weights.
Stock A CVS
80%
20%
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In Figure 1, the quartile breaks are calculated such that approximately 25% of the available market
capitalization lies in each quartile. Stocks at the median are divided 50% in each style index. Stocks below the
first quartile are 100% in the growth index. Stocks above the third quartile are 100% in the value index. Stocks
falling between the first and third quartile breaks are in both indexes to varying degrees; depending on how far
they are above or below the median and how close they are to the first or third quartile breaks.
5% rule
Roughly 70% of the available market capitalization is classified as all-growth or all-value (or all-defensive or
all-dynamic). The remaining 30% of stocks have some portion of their market value in either the value or the
growth index, depending on their relative distance from the median value score. The astute observer may note
that since the percentage of capitalization between the first quartile and the third quartile is 50%, we would
expect that 50% of the capitalization would be found in both indexes. What happened to the 20% (i.e., 50% to
30%)? The source for the disappearance of the 20% is our decision to institute a small position cutoff rule. If a
stocks weight is more than 95% in one style index, we increase its weight to 100% in that index. This rule
eliminates many small weightings and makes passive management easier.
Banding rule
In an effort to mitigate unnecessary turnover, Russell implements a banding methodology at the Composite
Value Score (CVS) level of the growth and value style algorithm. If a companys CVS change from the previous
year is to +/- 0.10 AND if the company remains in the same core index (Russell 1000 or Russell 2000), then
the CVS remains unchanged during the next reconstitution process. Keeping the CVS static for these
companies does not mean the probability (growth/value) will remain unchanged in all cases due to the relation of
a CVS score to the overall index. However, this banding methodology has proved to reduce turnover caused by
smaller, less meaningful movements while continuing to allow the larger, more meaningful changes to occur,
signaling a true change in a companys relation to the market.
Market capitalization of growth/value and defensive/dynamic indexes
The market capitalization of the growth and value style indexes, as well as that of the defensive and dynamic
stability indexes, may not each equal 50% of their base index. At first glance, this seems counterintuitive,
since the methodology uses capitalization-weighted medians and quartiles, which in turn implies that 50% of
the capitalization is above and 50% is below the median. However, asymmetry in the capitalization
distributions within the second and third quartiles results in a skewed distribution of CVS. When CVS is
normally distributed, 50% will be in each index.
Missing values, negative values, or low coverage
For valuation styles (growth and value), stocks with missing or negative values for B/P, or missing values for
I/B/E/S growth (negative IBES medium-term growth is valid), or missing sales per share historical growth (5yr)
(6 years of quarterly numbers are required), are allocated by using the mean value score of the base index
(Russell 1000, Russell 2000, Russell Microcap) industry, subsector, or sector group into which the company
falls. Each missing (or negative B/P) variable is substituted with the industry, subsector or sector group
independently. An industry must have five members or the substitution reverts to the subsector, and so forth to
the sector. This method was found to produce the fewest distortions, and it has the added advantage of being
very simple. In addition, a weighted value score is calculated for securities with low analyst coverage for
I/B/E/S medium-term growth. For securities with coverage by a single analyst, 2/3 of the industry, subsector,
or sector group value score is weighted with 1/3 the securitys independent value score. For those securities
with coverage by 2 analysts, 2/3 of the independent securitys value score is used and only 1/3 of the industry,
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subsector, or sector group is weighted. For those securities with at least three analysts contributing to the
I/B/E/S medium-term growth, 100% of the independent securitys value score is used.
For stability indexes (defensive and dynamic), if the quality or volatility indicator is not available, the company
receives a stability score for that indicator of 0.25. Since zero is the worst possible score and one is the best,
this conservative assumption mandates that missing data will result in a lower than average stability
probability.
Book value adjustments
Correct book value is critical in determining book-to-price measures. Therefore, the following method is used
to estimate the proper adjustments to B/P and book value.
A companys reported book value is adjusted to reflect write-offs stemming from the Financial Accounting
Standards Board (FASB)issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards numbers 106 and 109 (FAS
106 & 109) since June 30, 1993. Assuming that each company amortized the FAS 106 and 109 transition
obligation over a 20-year period beginning with year of adoption, the unamortized portion of the write-off is
added back to the reported book value. During reconstitution 2007, Russell also made an adjustment to book
value for FASB 158. The date companies were required to be compliant left non-comparable book values
across companies for reconstitution in June. However, in 2008, all companies were required to comply with
the standard, making companies evenly compared and the adjustment unnecessary.
The adjusted book-to-price ratio is calculated by use of this adjusted book value; the adjusted ratio is used in
place of reported book-to-price when ranking companies for style.
Russell non-linear probability algorithm
XL XM XU
Y = 0 0.5 1 1
5(XM-X)
XM-XL 1 + exp
1
5(XM-X)
XU-XM 1 + exp
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SECTION 7
Corporate actiondriven changes Timing and treatment of corporate actions
Russell applies corporate actions to the its indexes on a daily basis, both to reflect the evolution of securities
and to assure that the indexes remain highly representative of the U.S. equity market. A companys index
membership and its weight in the index can be impacted by these corporate actions. Russell uses a variety of
reliable public sources to determine when an action is final, including a companys press releases and
regulatory filings; local exchange notifications; and official updates from other data providers Russell deems
trustworthy. Prior to the completion of a corporate action, Russell estimates the effective date on the basis of
the same above sources. As new information becomes available, Russell may revise the anticipated effective
date and the terms of the corporate action, before ultimately confirming its effective date.
Depending upon the time an action is determined to be final, Russell either (1) applies the action before the
open on the ex-date or (2) applies the action providing appropriate notice, referred to as a delayed action
(see specific action types for details on timing and procedure). The timing of when corporate actions are
applied is critical for accurate market representation, and it impacts tracking for passive managers. Russell
believes this methodology strikes the best balance between the two. The impact of the action and the effective
date will be communicated to clients on a regular schedule, via the daily cumulative change files and the
corporate action calendar. For a schedule and sample of notifications, see Appendix C.
For the purposes of index calculation, Russell generally applies the most recently available market prices to
the index for corporate action adjustments. Russell will only use exchange provided estimates and price
adjustments in the absence of market prices and if the exchange provided estimate is deemed to be
appropriate. Otherwise, Russell will apply a corporate action on a delayed basis.
If Russell has confirmed the completion of a corporate action, scheduled to become effective subsequent to a
rebalance; the event may be implemented in conjunction with the rebalance to limit turnover, providing
appropriate notice can be given. Example: Company ABC is scheduled to be added or continue as an existing
member at rebalance. A tender offer is confirmed to be completed two days following the rebalance effective
date. Russell will provide appropriate notice of this index change per our normal procedures and will remove
company ABC at the rebalance effective date
There are many types of corporate actions, but the most common are described below, along with their
treatment within Russell indexes.
No replacement rule
Securities that leave the index for any reason (e.g., mergers, acquisitions or other similar corporate activity)
are not replaced. Thus, the number of securities in the indexes over the year will fluctuate according to
corporate activity.
Mergers and acquisitions
A merger is the combination of two companies to form a new company. An acquisition involves an acquiring
company purchasing a target company without forming a new company. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
activity may result in changes to index membership as well as to the shares included in the Russell Index and
a companys style probabilities. Adjustments due to mergers and acquisitions are applied to the index after the
action is determined to be final, providing appropriate notice. Deletions due to cash acquisitions may not
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require delisting confirmation from the exchange, provided all other conditions (regulatory & shareholder) have
been achieved.
M&A between index members: If both the acquiring company and the target company are current Russell
3000E or the Russell Global Index members, the target company is deleted from the index and the companys
market capitalization simultaneously moves to the acquiring stock, according to the M&A terms. Cross-
ownership and style of the surviving entity is determined by a weighted average (by market value) of the
cross-ownership and style probabilities of the two (or more) previous companies prior to the merger. Market
values the day before the Russell effective date are used for this determination. Given sufficient market hours
after the confirmation of the M&A, Russell effects the action after the close on the last day of trade of the
target company.
If Russell is able to determine the status of the action to be final prior to 1:00 p.m. Eastern: These
actions will be applied after the close of the current day. Deletes will be removed at the last traded price, and
increases to shares outstanding of the acquiring company will be adjusted simultaneously.
If Russell is able to determine the status of the action to be final after 1:00 p.m. Eastern: These actions
will be deemed a delayed action and will be applied after the close of the following day. A synthetic position
of the company will remain in the index for one day, and a calculated closing price for the acquired entity or
merged entity will be established. The calculated price is determined by the terms of the action and based on
the last traded price of the acquiring company. See Appendix E for calculations. For real-time calculations,
intra-day trading will reflect a stale price for the acquired entity. If the merger involves an election, the default
terms will be used to calculate a synthetic position. The new share position will not be impacted by a delay.
M&A between an index member and a non-member: A non-member is defined as a company that is not a
member of the Russell 3000E or the Russell Global Index. The M&A between an index member and a non-
member can involve either of two scenarios: 1) the acquiring company is an existing member and the target
company is not, or 2) the target company is an existing member and the acquiring company is not. If the target
company is the index member, it is deleted from the index after the action is determined as final. Cumulative
market capitalization of the target company decreases. If the acquiring company is the index member, its
shares are adjusted by adding the target companys market capitalization through a month-end share
adjustment (if the increase in shares is greater than 5%).
Cross-border M&A: In the event of a merger or acquisition in which the acquiring company and the target
company are in different countries, Russell applies the action when the M&A is determined as final. The target
company is deleted from its local country index and the companys market capitalization moves to the
acquiring stock according to the M&A terms. Cumulative market capitalization of the acquiring company
increases, while the cumulative market capitalization of the target company decreases by the same amount.
Note: Microcap and Frontier index members are not currently assigned a Stability score. When an index
member is merging with a Microcap or Frontier index member the shares will be updated according to the
terms of the merger, but the stability probability will not change.
Reverse mergers: When a Russell 3000 Index member is acquired or merged with a private, non-publicly-
traded company or OTC company, Russell will review the action to determine whether it is considered a
reverse merger (note: this rules does not apply to Russell Microcap only members, standard corporate action
rules apply). A reverse merger is defined as a transaction that results in a publicly traded company that meets
all requirements for inclusion in a Russell index. If it is determined that an action is a reverse merger, the
following rules will be applied:
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1. The newly formed entity will be placed in the appropriate market capitalization index after the close of the
first days trade (when-issued trade will not be recognized) following the completion of the merger. The
delay is necessary to capture an opening price and to ensure the event is replicable on Russells effective
date. Index placement will be determined by using the market-adjusted breakpoints from the last
reconstitution.
2. The acquired company will be simultaneously removed from the current index, capturing synthetic
performance for the day of the delay.
3. The growth/value of the surviving entity is determined by the industry average. For defensive/dynamic, the
surviving entity takes on the existing members characteristic.
4. Cross-ownership will be determined on the basis of the most recent SEC filings
For example, private Company A acquires Russell 3000 member Company B, currently a member of the
Russell 2000; the acquisition is determined to be a reverse merger. The newly formed entity, Company C, will
be analyzed for inclusion through the following steps:
First, the new entitys market capitalization will be determined by use of the opening price on the effective date
(typically the first price available). Second, this market capitalization will be compared to the latest
reconstitution breakpoints after adjusting for market performance, using the Russell 3000E to determine index
placement. Assuming the determination (based on the new market capitalization) is to place the newly formed
entity in the Russell 1000, after the close of the effective date, Company B will be deleted from the Russell
2000 and Company C will be added to the Russell 1000.
Standard action: The acquired company is deleted after the action is final.
If Russell is able to determine the status of the action to be final prior to 1:00 p.m. Eastern: Actions
resulting in a delete will result in the companys removal after the close of the current day at the last traded
price.
If Russell is able to determine the status of the action to be final after 1:00 p.m. Eastern: Such action
will be deemed a delayed action and will be applied after the close of the following day. The deleted
company will remain in the index at a stale price, based on the previous days close, and will be removed the
following day at a synthetic price of the acquiring company. See Appendix E for calculations.
Reincorporations
Members of the index that are reincorporated to another country are analyzed for country assignment the
following year during reconstitution, as long as they continue to trade in the U.S. Companies that reincorporate
and no longer trade in the U.S. are immediately deleted from the U.S. indexes and placed in the appropriate
country within the Russell Global Index. Those that reincorporate to the U.S. during the year will be assessed
during reconstitution for membership.
Reclassifications of shares (primary vehicles)
Primary vehicles will not be assessed or changed outside of a reconstitution period unless the existing class
ceases to exist. In the event of extenuating circumstances signaling a necessary primary vehicle change,
proper notification will be made.
Rights offerings
Rights offers: A rights offer/issue is essentially a companys offering to shareholders of the right to purchase
additional shares at a given subscription price. The subscription price of the rights is generally at a discount to
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the prevailing market price of the stock, to make the offer enticing to shareholders and to ensure that the rights
offering is fully subscribed. Russell will not apply poison pill rights or entitlements that give shareholders the
right to purchase ineligible securities such as convertible debt.
Russell will only adjust the index to account for a right if the subscription price of the right is at a discount to
the market price of the stock. Provided Russell has been alerted to the rights offer prior to the ex-date, a price
adjustment will be applied before the open on the ex-date to account for the value of the rights, and shares
increased according to the terms of the offering. The treatment is consistent for both transferable and non-
transferable rights. If Russell is unable to provide prior notice, the price adjustment and share increase will be
delayed until appropriate notice is given. In these circumstances the price of the stock involved is adjusted to
delay the performance due to the rights issue. See Appendix E for calculations.
Changes to shares outstanding
Changes to shares outstanding due to buybacks (including Dutch auctions), secondary offerings, merger
activity with a non-index member and other potential changes are updated at the end of the month in which
the change is reflected in vendor-supplied updates and are verified by Russell by use of an SEC filing.
For a change in shares to occur, the cumulative change to available shares must be greater than 5%. These
share changes are communicated to premier clients three trading days prior to month-end and include shares
provided by the vendor and verified by Russell four days prior to month-end. The float factor determined at
reconstitution is applied to the new shares issued or bought back. For example, assuming that a new issuance
of 1,000 shares is greater than 5% of the available shares and that the current float factor is 50%, 500 shares
would be added to the index. (Note: If any new shares issued are unavailable according to the filing, that
portion will not be added to the index.)
November and December month-end share changes, as well as fourth-quarter IPO additions, will be processed as one event after the close on the third Friday of each December. This is a result of low liquidity in the financial markets at year end and the proximity of a separate November process.
June month-end share changes are not processed at month end; residual share changes that are not
addressed as part of the annual reconstitution process are rolled into the following July month end process.
Spin-offs
A spin-off is a new entity resulting from the spinning-off of assets and equity from a parent company. In a pure
spin-off, a parent company distributes 100% of its ownership interests in a subsidiary operation as dividends
to its existing shareholders. After the spin-off, there are two (or more) separate, publicly held firms with exactly
the same shareholder base, and cumulative market capitalization as the original company. The spin-off
companys style index is determined by the style index membership of the parent entity.
See Appendix E for further description of the calculation of market-adjusted total market capitalization in the
Russell 3000E Index.
If the when-issued price of a spun-off company is not available by market close on ex-1, Russell will use an
exchange provided estimate, if deemed appropriate In the absence of an appropriate estimate, Russell will
delay the application of the spin-off by one day unless other circumstances (such as a merger or tender offer)
make it possible to calculate an estimate. In the absence of trade of the spin-off company on the ex-date, a
value of the spin-off will be determined by using the difference between the close price on ex-1 and the open
price on the ex-date. If a delay is required, a synthetic price/performance will be calculated after the close of
trading on the ex-date to account for the actual opening price (or Russell calculated open price) of the spin-off.
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This price/performance is calculated to capture accurate performance of both the spin-off and parent for the
day. Note, real time calculations will reflect only the estimated performance on the parent and child companies
as actual performance is not captured until end of day.
Domestic spin-offs: Spin-off companies are added to the Russell Indexes at the time they are spun-off from
their parent company, subject to the following rules:
The spun-off company meets all index eligibility requirements and its market cap is larger than the
market adjusted total market cap of the smallest company in the Russell 3000E at the latest
reconstitution. (If the spun-off company is to become a member of the Global Indexes, the smallest
stock in the Russell Global Indexes will be used as the basis of eligibility.)
The newly formed entity will be placed in the parents index on the completion date and the spun-off
companys style index is determined by the style index membership of the parent entity.
The parent companys market value will be reduced simultaneously on the Russell effective date.
Cross-border spin-offs: If the parent company spins off an entity that is incorporated in a different country,
the spun-off company will be assigned to the new country according to the country-assignment rules
discussed in Section 3 and may become a member of the Russell Global Indexes. Otherwise, the same rules
apply between domestic or cross-border spin-off additions.
Tender offers
A tender offer is an offer to purchase shareholders' shares in a corporation. The price offered is usually higher
than the market price, providing an incentive to shareholders to tender. The target companys shareholders
are asked to tender or surrender their stock holdings for a stated value, subject to the agreement of a
minimum and/or maximum number of shareholders. For instance, if a corporation's stock were trading at $1
per share, an acquirer might offer the shareholders $1.15 per share on the condition that 51% of the
shareholders agree.
In the case of a cash tender offer, the target company will be removed from the index when:
The offer period completes (initial, extension or subsequent); and
Shareholders have validly tendered, not withdrawn, and the shares have been accepted for payment;
and
All regulatory requirements have been fulfilled; and
The acquiring company is able to finalize the acquisition via short-form merger, top-up option or other
compulsory mechanism
If the requirements have been fulfilled, with the exception being that the acquirer is unable to finalize the
acquisition through a compulsory mechanism, an adjustment will be applied to the target companys float-
adjusted shares if they have decreased by 30% or more, and the tender offer has fully completed and closed.
If the acquiring company is issuing stock as part of the tender offer, the float-adjusted shares of that company
will be increased concurrently with the decrease in the target companys float-adjusted shares. Any
adjustment will occur on a date pre-announced by Russell.
Russell does not review partial tender offers and acquisitions. A partial tender offer or acquisition is defined as
an offer by an acquiring company for a stake in a target company that is not intended to result in 100%
ownership. Shares acquired in a partial acquisition or tender offer will be reviewed at annual reconstitution for
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inclusion in free float. Shares that are issued as a result of a partial acquisition or tender offer will be reviewed
at month-end for inclusion (if greater than 5%). If a partial acquisition or tender offer includes a corporate
action impacting all shareholders, Russell will give effect to the mandatory element of the event.
Delisting
Only companies listed on U.S. exchanges are included in the Russell U.S. indexes. Therefore, when a
company is delisted from a U.S. exchange and moved to OTC, the company is removed from the Russell
Indexes. When this occurs, the company is removed either at the close of the current day at the last traded
price, or the following day, using the closing OTC price.
Securities continuing to trade on the primary exchange (non-halted):
If Russell determines the status of the action to be final prior to 1:00 p.m. Eastern: These deletes will be
applied after the close of the current day, using the last traded price.
If Russell determines the status of the action to be final after 1:00 p.m. Eastern: These deletes will be
deemed delayed actions and will be carried out after the close of the following day, using the closing OTC
price.
Securities previously halted that fail to trade on the primary exchange prior to being moved to OTC will always
be removed the following day at the OTC closing price, regardless of the time of notification.
Bankruptcy and voluntary liquidations
Companies filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or that have filed a liquidation plan will be removed from the
Russell U.S. indexes at the time of filing. When shareholder approval is required to finalize the liquidation plan,
Russell will remove the security once shareholder approval has been granted. Companies filing for Chapter 11
reorganization bankruptcy will remain members of the index, unless the companies are delisted from the
primary exchange. In that case, normal delisting rules will apply. If a company files for bankruptcy and is
delisted and if it can be confirmed that it will not trade OTC, Russell may remove the stock at a nominal price
of $0.0001.
Stock distributions
Stock distributions can take two forms: (1) a stated amount of stock distributed on the ex-date, or (2) an
undetermined amount of stock based on earnings and profits to be distributed at a future date. In both cases,
a price adjustment is done on the ex-date of the distribution. Shares are increased on the ex-date for category
(1) and on the pay-date for category (2).
Dividends
Gross dividends are included in the daily total return calculation of the indexes on the basis of their ex-dates.
The ex-date is used rather than the pay-date because the marketplace price adjustment for the dividend
occurs on the ex-date. If a dividend is payable in stock and cash and the stock rate cannot be determined by
the ex-date, the dividend is treated as all cash. If the number of shares to be issued as a stock dividend is
announced subsequently, Russell will give effect to the share change with appropriate notice.
Regular cash dividends: Regular cash dividends are those paid to shareholders out of a companys profits
or reserves. Regular cash dividends impact the total return and are reinvested across the index at the close on
the dividend ex-date. Monthly, quarterly and annual total returns are calculated by compounding the
reinvestment of dividends daily. The reinvestment and compounding is at the total index level, not at the
security level.
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Special cash dividends: In addition to paying regular dividends, a company may at times pay special cash
dividends. These are paid outside a companys regular dividend schedule and can occur for a variety of
reasons, such as a major litigation win, the sale of a business or liquidation of an investment. For special cash
dividends, the price of the stock is adjusted to deduct the dividend amount before the open on the ex-date.
Russell deems a dividend to be special if the distributing company describes it as such. However, on
occasions where special dividends are paid in a regular pattern or amount, the dividend will be treated by
Russell as regular.
Halted securities
When a stocks trading has been halted, Russell holds the security at its most recent closing price until trading
is resumed or is officially delisted.
In addition, Russell will review stocks in two categories for removal: (1) Stocks halted due to financial
difficulty/debt or cash flow issues for a period longer than 40 calendar days or (2) those stocks suspended due
to exchange listing rules or legal regulatory issues longer than one calendar quarter. Determination for
removal will be made on a case-by-case basis and based upon reasonable likelihood of trade resumption and
likelihood of residual value returned to equity holders.
Should removal be deemed appropriate, announcement will be made with monthly share changes and
removed on month-end at zero value (for system purposes the actual value used is .0001, in local currency).
Stocks that are scheduled for changes but are halted or suspended prior to reconstitution will have their
scheduled updates postponed and will be monitored for trade resumption. Once trading resumes, these
securities changes will be announced and will have their positions updated accordingly. Standard notice
requirements for these changes will be adhered to: Same day changes would occur, presuming notification
within the 2 pm (Eastern Time) cumulative change file can be provided. If sufficient notice is not possible, the
updates will be delayed by one day. Securities that are being removed will be removed using the primary
exchange close price.
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Russell Equal Weight Indexes Russell research has shown that the process of equally weighting each sector within an underlying index, and
then equally weighting each of the constituents within each sector, provides greater diversification benefits
than only equally weighting the constituents of an underlying index.
Each quarter, each sector2 in the underlying index is allocated an equal weight (i.e., 1/N, where N is the
number of sectors in the Market Cap Index). Next, each constituent within each sector is assigned an equal
weight within that sector (i.e., 1/N, where N is the number of constituents within the sector.)
A capacity screen is then applied to the securities in the Russell Equal Weight Indexes. Capacity is defined as
the total amount that can theoretically be invested in a company. For a security that has 100% of its shares
freely available, the maximum capacity is defined as the total market capitalization of that security. To be
eligible for membership, the share position of a potential constituent cannot exceed 5% of the float-adjusted
shares of a company when a notional value of $5 billion is assumed to be invested in the portfolio. (An
example is provided in the appendix.)3
The Russell Global Equal Weight Index methodology also applies an additional liquidity screen. The liquidity
screen captures 95% of the liquidity in the marketplace. It removes securities that have a liquidity measure
that is two standard deviations from the mean of a lognormal distribution of the average daily dollar trading
value (ADDTV) of the securities in the Russell Global Large Cap Index.
For a security to be eligible for inclusion, it must have an average daily dollar trading value (ADDTV) greater
than or equal to:
Where: = where is the average daily dollar trading value of security
In the above equation, the mean and standard deviations are derived by use of the liquidity of the constituents
in the Russell Global Large Cap Index. Small cap securities will be subject to an ADDTV cutoff point that is
half of the cutoff point identified above.
Quarterly index re-weighting and annual reconstitution
The Russell Equal Weight Indexes are re-weighted at the close of the last business day in March and
September. Junes re-weighting is completed at the same time as the annual reconstitution of the parent
indexes and Decembers re-weighting is completed at the close of the third Friday of the month to coincide
with the IPO additions to the parent indexes.
2 The sector scheme used in the construction of the Russell Equal Weight Indexes is the Russell Global Sectors (RGS)
classification system, which has nine sectors: Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy, Financial Services, Health Care, Materials & Processing, Producer Durables, Technology and Utilities 3 After securities weights are reset, they may change as often as daily as stock prices fluctuate.
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Corporate actiondriven changes
Month-end share changes: Month-end changes to shares outstanding within the underlying index will not be
reflected in the Russell Equal Weight Indexes. However, shares may be adjusted to reflect quarterly index re-
weighting.
Price adjustments: Price adjustments for rights issues are applied on the ex-date (open). Share increases
resulting from rights being exercised will not be applied in order to minimize index turnover.
Dividends: Dividends are applied daily.
Splits: Splits are applied daily.
Spin-offs: Spin-offs are reflected on the ex-date open (or ex-date +1 if when-issued trading or an appropriate
exchange estimate is not available), with the weight of the parent company being split on the basis of the float-
adjusted market capitalization of the parent company on the day the spin-off is final.
Mergers and acquisitions between index members and non-members: If an index member acquires a
non-index member, shares of the acquiring company will remain unchanged. If a non-index member acquires
an index member, the acquired member will be deleted from the index once the action is final.
Mergers and acquisitions between index members: If both the acquiring company and the target company
are current index members, the weight of the acquirer will be adjusted by adding the targets market
capitalization if both the t